1. Who we are and what this policy covers
The Lodestone Group, LLC ("Lodestone," "we," "us," or "our") operates https://www.thelodestonegroup.com/ (the "Website"). Our business mailing address is PO Box 14823, Springfield, MO 65814, United States. For privacy questions or requests, contact info@thelodestonegroup.com or +1 417-815-0133.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, protect, and retain personal information through the Website and related inquiries and business communications. Personal information means information that identifies, relates to, or can reasonably be linked to an individual or, where applicable law protects it, a household.
For the activities described here, we determine why and how personal information is used and act as the controller (or equivalent responsible organization) under applicable law.
Where we process personal information solely on a customer's instructions in providing consulting, implementation, support, or software services, that processing is governed by applicable law and the relevant customer and data-processing agreements. This Policy does not replace those agreements or a product-specific privacy notice. If one of our customers controls your information, direct your request to that customer; we will assist as required by law and our agreement. Third-party services and websites have their own privacy notices.
2. Information we collect and its sources
Information you provide. We collect the contact and business information you send us, such as your name, work email address, organization, telephone number or job title if provided, service interests, project goals, scheduling preferences, correspondence, and other information relevant to your inquiry. We also keep records of your communication preferences and any consent or authorization you give us.
The project-brief tool prepares an email for you to review and send through your email application. We receive the brief when you send it to us. The Copy brief option copies the text for your use; copying a brief or preparing an unsent draft does not itself submit an inquiry to Lodestone. If another form submits directly to us, its notice explains how we use the submitted information.
Information collected through the Website. Hosting and security services may process IP addresses, request times, browser and device information, referring pages, and technical logs to deliver and protect the Website. When you allow optional analytics, Google Analytics processes information about visits and interactions, browser and device characteristics, approximate location, and browser identifiers. Our Cookie Policy explains the technologies and choices.
Information from others. We may receive business contact information and relevant project context from your colleagues, employer, a business contact, or a referral you authorize. If you communicate with us through a social platform, we receive the information made available in that communication. We use information received from others for the disclosed purpose and provide additional notice where required.
Please provide only information relevant to your request. Do not submit passwords, access tokens, payment-card details, government identifiers, health information, or customer production records through an ordinary website inquiry. We will arrange an appropriate channel if an engagement requires sensitive or confidential materials.
3. How we use personal information
We use personal information to:
respond to inquiries, understand requirements, assess service fit, prepare proposals, arrange conversations, and manage business relationships;
operate and secure the Website, investigate misuse, and maintain proportionate business records;
comply with applicable legal obligations and establish, exercise, or defend legal claims;
with your permission, use optional analytics to understand Website use and improve our content; and
if you subscribe to promotional emails, send the communications you requested. You may unsubscribe at any time.
An inquiry, a request for a quote, or a cookie choice does not automatically subscribe you to marketing or authorize a Salesforce referral.
Providing inquiry information is voluntary. Without enough information to understand or respond to your request, we may be unable to assist. We do not use Website analytics to make solely automated decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
4. Legal bases where European or UK law applies
Where the EU GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases for the relevant activity. The legal basis depends on the purpose and your relationship with us.
| Activity | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Responding to you as an individual seeking a contract | Steps you request before entering a contract, or performance of that contract |
| Communicating with a business representative | Our legitimate interests in responding to business contacts, evaluating opportunities, and administering relationships |
| Essential operations and security | Our legitimate interests in reliable Website operation and preventing misuse, balanced against your rights |
| Optional analytics and subscribed promotional emails | Your consent. You may withdraw it at any time |
| Legal obligations and disputes | A legal obligation recognized by the applicable data-protection law, or our legitimate interests in proportionate recordkeeping and protecting legal rights, as appropriate |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the purpose, necessity, and effect on individuals. You may object as described below. Withdrawal of consent does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal.
5. Who receives personal information
Service providers. Providers supporting hosting, security, business email, communications, relationship management, and permitted analytics receive information needed for their services. Google provides the analytics described in the Cookie Policy. We use appropriate contractual restrictions for providers processing information on our behalf. Any separate processing by a provider is governed by its applicable privacy notice and the choices or legal requirements that apply.
Personnel and professional advisers. Authorized employees, contractors, legal advisers, accountants, and insurers may access information where necessary for their responsibilities, subject to appropriate confidentiality and access restrictions.
Requested introductions and Salesforce referrals. If you ask us to involve Salesforce or another provider, we may share the contact details and project context needed for that introduction. Before submitting an individual's personal data to Salesforce through the partner referral process, we obtain the specific consent required for that transfer and Salesforce's intended use, including related onward transfers and processing. Salesforce then processes the information under its Privacy Statement at https://www.salesforce.com/company/legal/privacy/. A general inquiry to Lodestone is not that consent.
Legal and protective disclosures. We may disclose information where required by law or valid legal process, or where reasonably necessary and lawful to prevent fraud, protect people or systems, or establish, exercise, or defend legal rights.
Business transactions. Information may be disclosed in connection with a proposed or completed merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, or transfer of relevant assets, subject to appropriate confidentiality and legal safeguards. A successor must handle the information in accordance with applicable law.
6. Sale, sharing, and targeted advertising
We do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not use personal information for targeted advertising, as those terms are defined by applicable privacy law. We disclose information to the providers and other recipients described in this Policy for the purposes explained here.
You can control optional analytics through Cookie Preferences at any time. Where applicable law gives you additional rights to opt out of processing, you may exercise those rights using the contact details in this Policy. We honor legally recognized opt-out preference signals, including Global Privacy Control, where required for the processing to which they apply. Such a signal does not give permission for other optional technologies.
7. Cookies and your choices
We use necessary technologies for essential functions and to remember privacy choices. Optional analytics remain off until you allow them. You can accept, reject, or adjust optional technologies and withdraw permission through the Cookie Preferences link. Rejecting optional analytics does not prevent you from browsing the Website or contacting us.
Our Cookie Policy identifies the relevant purposes, providers, storage periods, and controls. Browser controls offer additional choices. Accepting Website terms, scrolling, closing a banner, or continuing to browse does not constitute consent to optional tracking.
8. International processing and safeguards
We are based in the United States, and personal information may be processed there. Authorized personnel and service providers may also process information in other countries when performing their responsibilities or providing their services. Privacy laws in those countries may differ from the laws where you live.
Before making an international transfer that is restricted by applicable law, we require a lawful transfer mechanism and any additional protections required by that law. You may contact us for information about the countries and safeguards relevant to your information and how to obtain a copy of applicable safeguards, with confidential information removed where appropriate. Merely using the Website does not constitute consent to a restricted international transfer.
9. How long we retain information
We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary for its purpose, unless a longer period is required or permitted by applicable law. We consider the information's nature and sensitivity, the relationship and purpose, applicable recordkeeping and limitation periods, and any legal hold.
| Information | Retention criteria |
|---|---|
| Inquiries and business correspondence | While we address the request and maintain a relevant relationship, with periodic review and deletion of inactive records when no longer needed |
| Promotional email preferences | While the subscription remains active. Limited suppression information may be retained to honor an unsubscribe request |
| Consent and referral authorization records | For the period needed to demonstrate the relevant choice, address complaints, and satisfy applicable obligations or claims periods |
| Technical and security logs | For the period needed to troubleshoot delivery, detect and investigate incidents, and address misuse, followed by deletion when those purposes and any legal preservation requirements end |
| Analytics information | We retain identifiable analytics information for the period needed to measure Website use, compare performance across reporting periods, and assess content improvements. We review whether it remains necessary and delete or anonymize it when no longer needed. Reports that no longer identify individuals may be retained for longer. Cookie storage periods are explained separately in the Cookie Policy. |
| Legal and compliance records | For the period required by the relevant legal obligation, legal hold, or need to establish, exercise, or defend claims |
When information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it, or isolate it from active use pending deletion through applicable backup cycles. A cookie's expiry does not determine how long information already collected through that cookie is retained.
10. How we protect information
We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures appropriate to the information and risks, including proportionate access restrictions and confidentiality requirements. No website, transmission, or storage system is completely secure. Use the agreed secure channel for customer records and other sensitive materials.
11. Your rights and how to exercise them
Your rights depend on the laws that apply to you and to our processing. They may include access to or confirmation of processing, a copy of your information, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, and objection. Where relevant US state law applies, rights may also include opting out of sale, sharing, targeted advertising, or qualifying profiling, and limiting certain uses or disclosures of sensitive personal information.
Where EU or UK data-protection law applies, you may object to processing based on legitimate interests and to direct marketing. You may withdraw consent at any time. Use an unsubscribe link in a promotional email or contact us. Necessary replies to your inquiry and service-related communications may continue where appropriate.
Send requests to info@thelodestonegroup.com, call +1 417-815-0133, or write to the postal address above. Include enough information for us to understand your request and locate the relevant records.
We may ask for proportionate identity verification for requests such as access or deletion, and evidence of an authorized agent's authority, where permitted or required. We do not require identity verification for cookie choices or for statutory opt-out requests where the law prohibits it. Please do not send identity documents unless we request them through an appropriate channel.
We respond within the period required by applicable law. Rights are subject to lawful exceptions. If we deny a request, we explain the reason and the available review or complaint options. Where an appeal right applies, reply to our decision or email us with the subject Privacy Appeal. We will communicate the outcome and any further complaint route required by law. We do not unlawfully discriminate against you for exercising privacy rights.
12. Privacy complaints
You may raise a privacy concern or complaint using the contact details above; the subject Privacy Complaint helps us route your email. We will assess the complaint, investigate as appropriate, and communicate our response. Where UK data-protection complaints requirements apply, we acknowledge complaints within 30 days, handle them without undue delay, and keep you informed of progress and the outcome.
You may also complain to the competent regulator where applicable. Under EU or UK law, this may include the authority where you live or work or where the alleged infringement occurred. UK complaints may be directed to the Information Commissioner's Office at https://ico.org.uk/. Swiss concerns may be directed to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner at https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/. Contacting us does not remove any right to complain to a regulator.
13. Children and external websites
The Website is intended for adult business audiences and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly seek personal information from children through the Website. If you believe a child has provided information, contact us so we can assess and address it as required by applicable law.
If you follow a link to another website or service, that provider's privacy practices apply. A link does not make us responsible for the provider's independent practices, except where applicable law provides otherwise.
14. Changes and contact details
We may update this Policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will post the revised version and date and provide additional notice or request fresh consent where required. A policy update does not itself authorize a materially different use of previously collected information when further legal steps are required.
Privacy contact: The Lodestone Group, LLC, info@thelodestonegroup.com, +1 417-815-0133, PO Box 14823, Springfield, MO 65814, United States.